AYSO is an all-volunteer organization. The coaches who guide teams through practices and during games, the referees who tirelessly officiate matches going from one field to the next, the board members who organize the region’s events all the way from planning registrations to setting the schedule and making sure matchdays run smoothly, are all volunteers. Nobody gets paid one dime to participate in AYSO. Nationwide, more than 220,000 parents, relatives and friends sacrifice their time and effort to make sure that all of the children receive a great AYSO experience.

Because of this volunteer foundation, AYSO ensures that the costs are as low as possible, therefore keeping it very affordable for the kids.

AYSO has developed special job-specific training that helps volunteers who may have little to no soccer experience familiarize themselves with the knowledge and skills necessary to become effective coaches and referees, as well as offering unique administrative and management training.

All this ensures that each program abides by AYSO’s Six Philosophies, offers a great AYSO experience and continues to grow and offer AYSO to more children.

It only takes a few hours to become a qualified introductory-level coach or referee. If you are willing to commit to even more time, there are many small but important jobs you can help with. Even a few hours here or there can make a big difference not only to your team but to the entire region.